Optical constants

Refractive index of Fe (Iron)

Johnson and Christy 1974: n,k 0.188–1.94 µm

Data: tabulated nk
Range: 0.188–1.937 µm
Points: 49
Licence: CC0-1.0

Axis Log x Log y

Click the plot to set the calculator wavelength.

At one wavelength

Refractive index n: 2.9304
Extinction coefficient k: 2.9996

Permittivity ε₁: -0.410356
Permittivity ε₂: 17.5801

Absorption coefficient α: 641492 cm⁻¹
Penetration depth δ = λ/(2πk): 31.1773 nm

Abbe number V_d: —
Chromatic dispersion dn/dλ: -1.71429 µm⁻¹

Group index n_g: 3.93771
Group velocity dispersion: — fs²/mm

Dispersion parameter D: — ps/(nm·km)
Photon energy: 2.11001 eV

ε = (n + ik)², α = 4πk/λ, n_g = n − λ dn/dλ, GVD = λ³/(2πc²) d²n/dλ², D = −(λ/c) d²n/dλ². Group-velocity dispersion is given for formula data only.

Use it in Lightsmith

Load this data in Python, simulate in one more line

pip install lightsmith

import lightsmith as ls

# Fe (Iron): Johnson and Christy 1974: n,k 0.188–1.94 µm
fe = ls.fetch_refractiveindex("main", "Fe", "Johnson", ref="c5c2f188e848453def5970e347399d653df2ffc2")
print(fe.range_nm)  # (188, 1937) nm
eps = fe.eps([633])  # complex permittivity

Downloads the original record once (pinned to the imported snapshot) and caches it.

import json, urllib.request
import lightsmith as ls

url = "https://materials.lightsmith.dev/v1/datasets/ds_506a773bec73/lightsmith"
fe = ls.Tabulated.model_validate(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(url)))
print(fe.source)  # citation and provenance travel with the data

Any dataset here, as the library's Tabulated material (fe/johnson-christy-1974).

# ... load fe as above, then:
sim = ls.Simulation(
    particles=[ls.Particle(shape=ls.Sphere(radius_nm=50), material=fe)],
    medium_index=1.0,
    wavelengths=ls.WavelengthRange(start_nm=400, stop_nm=1000, num=81),
)
res = ls.solve(sim)  # exact Mie for a sphere
print(res.q_ext)     # extinction efficiency at each wavelength

Same spec runs with DDA, FDTD, BEM or T-matrix: ls.compare(sim, ["mie", "dda"]).

Materials guide Open a sphere of it in Studio Quick start Ask the community

Lightsmith is open source (MIT): Mie, T-matrix, BEM, DDA, FDTD, RCWA, TMM, mode solvers and inverse design behind one spec, on CPU or GPU. GitHub.

Comments and conditions

Room temperature

References

P. B. Johnson and R. W. Christy. Optical constants of transition metals: Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Pd. Phys. Rev. B 9, 5056-5070 (1974)

doi:10.1103/physrevb.9.5056 Optical constants of transition metals: Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Pd, Physical Review B (1974)

Cite

P. Johnson and R. Christy. Optical constants of transition metals: Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Pd. Physical Review B, 9, 5056-5070 (1974), doi:10.1103/physrevb.9.5056; Data from the refractiveindex.info database (M. N. Polyanskiy, Sci. Data 11, 94 (2024), doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02898-2)

Data

49 rows as published

CSV comma separated TXT tab separated YAML n, k Full database record original YAML All quantities CSV JSON metadata

Fe (Iron), Johnson and Christy 1974: n,k 0.188–1.94 µm: n and k versus wavelength
λ (µm)	n	k
0.188	1.29	1.35
0.192	1.35	1.37
0.195	1.42	1.39
0.199	1.45	1.4
0.203	1.47	1.4
0.207	1.49	1.41
0.212	1.47	1.43
0.216	1.47	1.44
0.221	1.47	1.47
0.226	1.47	1.49
0.231	1.48	1.53
0.237	1.48	1.57
0.243	1.5	1.61
0.249	1.51	1.66
0.255	1.53	1.7
0.262	1.56	1.75
0.269	1.59	1.79
0.276	1.62	1.84
0.284	1.64	1.88
0.292	1.65	1.94
0.301	1.67	2.0
0.311	1.69	2.06
0.32	1.74	2.12
0.332	1.78	2.19
0.342	1.85	2.27
0.354	1.93	2.35
0.368	2.02	2.43
0.381	2.12	2.5
0.397	2.24	2.58
0.413	2.35	2.65
0.431	2.48	2.71
0.451	2.59	2.77
0.471	2.67	2.82
0.496	2.74	2.88
0.521	2.86	2.91
0.549	2.95	2.93
0.582	2.94	2.99
0.617	2.88	3.05
0.659	2.92	3.1
0.704	2.86	3.19
0.756	2.87	3.28
0.821	2.94	3.39
0.892	2.96	3.56
0.984	2.92	3.79
1.088	2.97	4.06
1.216	3.03	4.39
1.393	3.09	4.83
1.61	3.11	5.39
1.937	3.17	6.12

Optical transmission calculator

Free-standing sample in vacuum, normal incidence

Transmittance T: —
Reflectance R: —

Fresnel reflection calculator

R_p: —
R_s: —
R = (R_p+R_s)/2: —
Phase φ_p: —
Phase φ_s: —
Brewster angle θ_B: —
Critical angle θ_C: —

Fe (Iron): all datasets

Experimental data

Models and simulations

Werner et al. 2009: DFT calculations; n,k 0.0176–2.48 µm n,k 0.01759–2.48 µm

About Fe (Iron)

Iron (Fe) is a common element with widespread industrial applications, including construction, transportation, and manufacturing. In the context of optical systems, iron is not typically used in its elemental form due to its propensity for oxidation and poor transparency to light. However, iron-doped materials, such as iron-doped silica, are used for specialized applications such as in optical fibers for telecommunications and sensors. Iron is also used in the form of thin films in some optical components where its magnetic properties are advantageous. Additionally, mirrors for high-power laser applications can be made from polished iron or iron alloys, though this is less common than materials like copper. Overall, while elemental iron is not a primary material in optical applications, its properties are leveraged in various forms and composites for specialized uses.

More about Fe (Iron) →

Listed in

Provenance

Version: 1 (snapshot c5c2f18)
Source page: refractiveindex.info
Original file: database/data/main/Fe/nk/Johnson.yml
ID: ds_506a773bec73
API: /v1/datasets/ds_506a773bec73

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